The owners of Chautauqua Mall are suing again in Chautauqua County Supreme Court to have the assessment lowered on its property.
The current total assessed value of 381 Fairmount Avenue is $9.26 million. Washington Prime Group attorneys argue that the assessed value should only be $827,500 with a full market value of $1 million.
According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, this is now the fourth attempt by Washington Prime Group to reduce its taxable assessment in state Supreme Court, having previously filed in 2020, 2021, and updated a filing in March of this year.
Washington Prime Group had emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year following its CEO stepping down, completing the company’s financial restructuring and the implementation of its plan of reorganization.
Target Corporation is also petitioning in Supreme Court to get the assessment lowered on the former Kmart store it purchased on Fairmount Avenue.
The current assessed value is $3.4 million. Attorneys for Target are petitioning to reduce to assessment to $1.7 million, saying the assessed value of the property is higher than other similar properties.
Target purchased the property at 975 Fairmount Avenue for $3.15 million in October 2021. The former Kmart in that location closed in October 2019.
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The owner of Chautauqua Mall, Washington Prime Group, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company made the filing on Sunday after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to temporarily close some of its roughly 100 shopping centers across the United States and businesses were unable to pay its rent.
CNBC reports the filing made in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas states the company’s estimated assets ranged from $1 billion dollars to $10 billion dollars as did its estimated liabilities.
Reuters was the first to report that the Columbus, Ohio-based company, formed in 2014 following a spin-off from mall giant Simon Property Group Inc, was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection.
The company was in talks for roughly $100 million of so-called debtor-in-possession financing to aid operations during bankruptcy proceedings.
Fallout from the pandemic last year forced Washington Prime to close some properties for a time and relax collection of rent from its tenants, squeezing the mall owner’s finances.
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